TRADE AND MARKETING Is climate change a topic for potato Is climate change a topic when developing new varieties? If so, what role does it play in their development? We asked these questions to various representatives from participating trading companies at the recently-held varieties show. And what were their answers? They were all as surprising as the weather! Varieties for all climates As if they knew the question in advance, Europlant used the climate as the theme during the varieties show. ‘Varieties for all climates’, can be read everywhere in the presentation hall at Creil. So we do not need to ask Ben Bredek whether the climate plays a role, that’s obvious, isn’t it? ‘Yes, for years we have been developing varieties in anticipation of a changing climate’, Bredek tells us. As an example of such a changing climate, he mentions Southern Italy. ‘There you simply see potato-growing disappearing. Last summer, for days on end, it was 40 degrees Celsius during the day. But growers want to keep on growing potatoes as long as possible. And so it’s our task to equip them with suitable varieties.’ According to Bredek it is important to have the potatoes lifted before the summer heat becomes really fierce. ‘For that, you need varieties that grow quickly, eighty to ninety days at the most. A good example of that is our Bellarosa. When the hottest period has arrived, this potato has already been harvested.’ What also happens, says Bredek, is that, with the heat, ‘new’ pests and diseases develop. One of these is the potato tuber moth. The caterpillars of the moth make tunnels on the surface of the tubers. So this is another reason why it is important that the potatoes are lifted early, because most infestations are usually first seen early in July. Another undesirable guest is the epitrix a small beetle that, according to Bredek, fares very well at high temperatures. In countries such as Portugal and Spain, the small beetle was first seen five years ago and most damage is done when the summer heat is at its highest. Halt to advancing Potato stolbur phytoplasm ‘Well, we have always had dry summers and wet winters’, shrugs breeder Wilhelm Meyer when we ask him the question. Meyer works for Interseed Potatoes, the breeding company that works together with APF Holland in Dronten. ‘The year I was born, 1959, 14 Potato World 2010 • number 3 Pagina 13
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